{"id":32738,"date":"2022-06-23T17:43:15","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T17:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/covid-19-mask-rule-may-be-gone-but-phaahla-advises-people-to-remain-cautious"},"modified":"2022-06-23T17:58:33","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T17:58:33","slug":"covid-19-mask-rule-may-be-gone-but-phaahla-advises-people-to-remain-cautious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/covid-19-mask-rule-may-be-gone-but-phaahla-advises-people-to-remain-cautious","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19: Mask rule may be gone, but Phaahla advises people to remain cautious"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Even though the government has repealed all Covid-19 regulations, people should not be embarrassed to continue wearing masks, says Health Minister Joe Phaahla.<\/p>\n

“We still encourage citizens, especially in indoor settings, to feel free to wear a mask. The masks have shown to be helpful in preventing the spread of respiratory diseases. Don’t feel embarrassed just because government said it’s [not] compulsory. All that we are saying is, it is now in our hands to make those decisions.”<\/p>\n

From Thursday, for the first time in more than two years, South Africans were free to ditch their masks in public places.<\/p>\n

Phaahla also removed restrictions on international arrivals that required a vaccine certificate or a negative PCR test. In addition, restrictions on gatherings were removed.<\/p>\n

Lockdown: You can now fly around SA without a mask<\/p>\n

Phaahla added that the government would continue to monitor the disease.<\/p>\n

“There is no optimism that it will become endemic and remain like that. There is no certainty that we will not get a variant that will escape the immunity that we have.”<\/p>\n

He said vaccinations would continue to be available and would be integrated into normal health services.<\/p>\n

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said: “Half of all adult South Africans have, to date, received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose. Government aims to use the low-interest loan recently approved by the World Bank to purchase additional Covid-19 vaccine doses and ensure that the nation is adequately protected against potential infections.”<\/p>\n

Although the country did not meet the goal of vaccinating 70% of the population, it helped.<\/p>\n

Covid-19: So, what do we do with all of our masks now that they are no longer required?<\/p>\n

“We take solace in that as [at] 22 June, 36 700 million vaccine doses have been administered to 20.09 million adults and 1.9 million children [aged] 12-17 [years], giving a total average of 50.48% with at least one dose. We applaud the big turnout of the 60-plus age group, who are at risk, with a 70.5% turnout and the next high risk [group] of 50-59 years, with a 66.17% turnout.<\/p>\n

“We believe that the big turnout of the 50-plus age group contributed hugely to the reduced severity [of] hospitalisation and mortality witnessed in the fourth wave and [which is] persistent up to today.”<\/p>\n

The Free State is the only province which has reached 60% vaccine coverage. Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the North West and Mpumalanga are all below 50% vaccine coverage.<\/p>\n

Professor Koleka Mlisana, who co-chairs the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19, said: “We need to move to a place [where we ask] how do we live with the virus like we have lived with the others. The individuals who say they will continue you use masks, I support those. We need to bring back the responsibility of prevention to communities.”<\/p>\n

She said wearing masks should become a culture, especially among healthcare workers.<\/p>\n

“We know that they protect not just Covid-19, but other respiratory infections. The behaviour and wearing of masks must become a norm as a country. If you know you have flu or TB, you must wear a mask to protect others.”<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Even though the government has repealed all Covid-19 regulations, people should not be embarrassed to continue wearing masks, says Health Minister Joe Phaahla. “We still encourage citizens, especially in indoor settings, to feel free to wear a mask. The masks have shown to be helpful in preventing the spread of respiratory diseases. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":32737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[274,315,243,478,1556,227,475,280,654,2167,275],"class_list":["post-32738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-coronavirus","tag-department-of-health","tag-government","tag-health","tag-joe-phaahla","tag-lockdown","tag-mondli-gungubele","tag-presidency","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nCovid-19: Mask rule may be gone, but Phaahla advises people to remain cautious - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Even though the government has repealed all Covid-19 regulations, people should not be embarrassed to continue wearing m ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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